Lost in Stereo
by Lelauren
Summary: Shikamaru lived a monotonous, one-track life - he knew exactly where he was going. But in the midst of the bleak cityscape, she appeared in a burst of vibrancy, and knocked him completely off track. AU Shikatema. This is my first fanfiction, so please review! I was inspired to write this by the song 'Lost in Stereo' by All Time Low, hence the title.
1. on cigarettes and winter days

The cold, winter air was bracing as Shikamaru stepped out of the Nara office building's glass doors. After another draining day at work, he wanted nothing more than to lie down and engage in his favourite pastime: doing nothing. His board meeting had overrun, as they often did, and it was getting late. Although he was good at his job, the hours were long and he was constantly strained to get one thing or another done.

Shikamaru sighed. That was something he seemed to be doing a lot more since his father died, leaving him to take over the Nara Corporation. The extra responsibility weighed heavily on the young man, though it was a position that he had known he would have to fill since he was a little boy. All his life, there had been great plans laid out for him: an excellent job running his father's company, and all the wealth and prestige that came with the position. He'd always been told he was a special child- his intelligence and logic were far beyond his years, and he had the IQ of a genius, so there was no doubt that he was made for the job. And he'd accepted it, of course - that was the kind of life he was going to live. It suited him just fine-a comfortable life, a well-paid job, and someday even a wife and maybe some kids. He had never been the 'ambitious' type, and the life which was expected of him became what he himself expected.

His breath formed clouds in the evening air, like milk spreading through water, and he reached into his pocket for the battered lighter which he kept there. He began to walk home as he lit up a cigarette-one of his vices, which helped him deal with the stress. He knew it was not healthy for him to smoke as much as he did, but he had his reasons, and continually ignored the advice given to him by friends. With the cigarette in one hand, his feet walked down the usual streets which would lead him to his home. He had a small apartment not too far from the city centre-nothing extravagant, but conveniently placed, and the perfect size for him. Shikamaru was not the type to throw ostentatious parties, in order to boast of his wealth like so many people he worked with, nor did he have any family left other than his domineering mother, who he rarely saw anymore. As for partners...he found relationships, and women in general, to be quite troublesome. His love life consisted of flings and one-night-stands, (after all, attracting women was no problem with the status he had) and in his mind that was all he needed. A commitment would only be an annoyance. So he maintained his mainly solitary life, in a one-man apartment, attending social fixtures only when it would benefit his reputation, and continued to coexist monotonously with those in his workplace. _A boring lifestyle for a boring person_. He mused, letting a sardonic smile form on his lips.

His smile was short lived, however - Caught up in his own thoughts, he collided forcefully with another person, causing them to drop the large box they were carrying and scatter papers across the pavement. The boy, who was around a year younger than Shikamaru, glared at him with piercing blue eyes, ringed with thick black eyeliner. Shikamaru began to apologise, but the fearsome stare he was being given stopped him in his tracks. The boy had a tattoo on one side of his forehead, partially concealed by spiky, gelled red hair, and he spat out something about watching where one was going before stooping down to salvage what he could of his paperwork. Shikamaru quickly hurried past. 'If looks could kill...' he muttered, and gave one last glance behind. He could now see that the boy appeared to be moving boxes into the shop on the corner. The sign on display above it had not been changed since the previous owner left, still advertising a small convenience store, but a piece of paper had been pinned to the door, with 'SABAKU RECORDS' scrawled across it in messy handwriting. Shikamaru made a mental note to check it out in the future, and maybe drop in a quick apology for the mess as well.

It's short, but if you could let me know what you think that would be great! ^_^


	2. on loud music and unexpected news

**Wooow. Hello, beautiful inhabitants of ! Since you're reading this, that means I finally decided to stop being a lazy-ass and do something. Thank you to all of the people who reviewed – now I know what people mean when they say it gives them inspiration! I've tried to take any comments on board. I apologize sincerely for the long delay – I'll try to pick up the pace, especially so since Naruto is ending soon (cries internally). Aaanyway, the series and characters are property of Masashi Kishimoto and co (If I owned them I wouldn't let it end) and the lyrics to Lost In Stereo belong to the fantastic band All Time Low!**

~_She works for the weekend_

_Mixtape of her favourite bands~_

In Shikamaru's mind, there was no sound more satisfying than that of his key turning in the door. The metallic crunch promised relaxation, relief and a brief respite from his hectic lifestyle, and right now that sounded like heaven to the tired man. He slipped off his shoes, tossed the heavy briefcase onto his couch and headed into the kitchen, where he intended to pick out a suitable meal for a lazy evening in.

But alas, fate had other plans for him. He heard his phone ping next door, and his heart sank as he recognised the ringtone. _That's the tone I've got set for _her_..._he realised. _There go my plans for a peaceful evening. _

Shikamaru dug his phone out of his bag, and reluctantly checked the message. Sure enough, it was exactly what he expected.

'I can't believe it!' Ino's text message appeared on the screen.

_Sigh._

'What kind of absolute scandal have you been subjected to this time?'

"No, it's not like that! OMG! You must come over immediately-In fact, I'm declaring an official Ino-Shika-Cho meeting! Choji's on his way x'

Shikamaru did not reply to the melodramatic blonde. He didn't need to-this wasn't a request, it was an order. As any hope of relaxation quickly flew out of the window, he resigned himself to spending one evening with his closest friends. A delight sometimes, certainly, but he really wasn't in the mood for the loud-mouthed Yamanaka. Listening to the tales of her various exploits since they last met had not been his plan for the evening. Of course, everything from her current relationship status to the cute waiter she flirted with in a bar was sure to be discussed. Despite himself, Shikamaru found himself smiling. As much as he tried to deny it, some part of him enjoyed her babbling. It had been a while since the three of them had had time to chat.

After changing into more casual attire, Shikamaru stepped outside his apartment for the second time that day and headed out. Of course, he did not forget to stop and buy a six-pack of beer along the way- an unspoken requirement if one was to visit Ino Yamanaka's place.

"The least he could have done was say sorry…" Temari heard the front door slam, followed by the sound of the wind-chime tinkling. At least, it was supposed to tinkle- the force with which her younger brother closed the door resulted in a cacophony of jingles and metallic clangs. Curious, she poked her head around the doorway of the storeroom.

"What's the matter?" She asked, curious as to what had put Gaara in such a bad mood.

"Nothing much. Some asshat knocked over this box of papers, so it looks like we'll have to rearrange them…"

Temari laughed. "Well, good luck with that!" she said in a sing-song voice, and slammed the storeroom door shut before he could try and push the work onto her. Despite being the youngest, Gaara had taken ownership of the shop, and she had enough to do without a few extra hours of tedious shuffling. She turned around to face the mountain of dusty boxes stacked behind her. _Although…to be honest, this isn't much better. If I get lung cancer from the dust levels in here, Gaara is going to pay. _Temari had been cramped into the tiny storeroom for too long already, and she'd barely made a dent in the pile of crap she was supposed to be unpacking. It was certainly going to be a long first week.

The sound of a car alarm outside made Temari start. It was the third time she'd heard it since they arrived, and she was pretty sure it was the same guy's car each time. On top of that, there was the constant rumble of engines and beeping which had become the theme tune to her new life here in Konoha. Why did everything and everyone have to be so _loud _here? Back in the sleepy town of Suna, the only sound which could often be heard from inside their shop had been the odd conversation or animals passing by. Occasionally they'd get a family passing through and stopping for a bathroom break, in which case the whining of spoilt little children was what they'd be treated to.

Temari had never been a huge fan of kids, and her brother Kankuro couldn't stand them. Time after time a troupe of snot-nosed brats would be dragged into the shop by desperate parents asking if they could use the bathroom. The eldest would administer all of the necessary don't-touch-that's, don't-run-in-the-stores, and don't-get-your-grimy-fingerprints-on-our-wares, while Kankuro explained in a strained voice that _no, _there were _not _any toilets, it was a _record shop._ And when the nightmare was finally over, they'd hear the same thing uttered every single time;

"Oh, a record shop. How very…._retro!"_

Yes, that was why they'd left Suna after all- nobody in that deadbeat town was interested in music. Any kids who could have been customers had long since gotten out before they were stuck there. The closed-minded adults could do little but complain about how people like Gaara with his new-fangled ideals and loud music and _tattoos_ had no place in an upstanding community like theirs. Upstanding community, her ass- if a bunch of racist, homophobic old men who had nothing better to do than get drunk each night and screw each other's wives was what they called an upstanding community, then the three siblings wanted no part of it. It wasn't like they'd had any ties there, seeing as both of their parents had long since passed on. But despite all its shortcomings, Temari couldn't help but feel somewhat nostalgic when she thought of her old home. It had been quieter, calmer, less intimidating than the big city, and above all warmer. She had not yet had time to shop for new clothes, but she knew that her flimsy Suna garb would not suffice during the oncoming Konoha winter.

Snapping back to reality, the large pile of boxes left to unpack seemed to have grown an incredible amount since before Temari had allowed herself to daydream. Unable to live with the backdrop of city sounds any longer, the girl walked over to a box which she'd already unpacked on a counter. She reached inside, pulled out a slightly dusty CD, and grinned. It was a mix she'd made a few years back before her best friends moved out of Suna, and it still held some of her favourite tracks. Within a minute the small storeroom had been filled with the sound of loud music, and the young woman danced back over to the pile of boxes, and all of a sudden the task did not seem quite so daunting. Gaara would probably have a hissy fit over the volume, but right now, Temari couldn't care less. As she sang along to the tune, it seemed to her that life in Konoha might not be so bad after all.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

_Maybe she's not in. Maybe she forgot. Maybe-_

"SHIKAMARU!"

Shikamaru found himself encased in a too-tight bundle of purple and blonde hair and warmth which he knew to be one of Ino's bear hugs. Before he could open his mouth to say anything more, she pulled away and grabbed one of his wrists. From what he could see, the loud woman was incredibly excited – she had a feverish grin on her face as she tugged him further into her apartment, and her blue eyes were bright with some kind of secret waiting to be spilled out.

"Choooooooooji! Shikamaru's here!" She called out, letting him know that the other friend had already arrived. Shikamaru was thrust onto the couch upon their arrival in the same area. His (slightly overweight) friend raised one sceptical eyebrow at him, indicating that he also had no clue what was going on. Ino walked over to the kitchen where she rummaged for a while and eventually returned with three glasses and a bottle of champagne, the excited smile having never left her face.

_Champagne? But why? _Shikamaru knew that Ino's job in the beauty salon did not pay well, although it was all she could fit in whilst studying for her Psychology degree (despite being often taken for some kind of blonde bimbo because of the way she dressed and acted, Ino had a good head on her shoulders). _She wouldn't splash out on champagne just for a meeting with the three of us. Unless she was….celebrating? _

Ino perched herself on an armchair across from her male friends, visibly nervous-her hands shook as she poured the champagne into the glasses, at times spilling some on the coffee table. When she had handed a glass to each of them, she sat back, took a deep breath, and suddenly squealed, as if unable to contain herself any longer;

"Kiba and I are getting married!"

Shikamaru stopped in his tracks. _What!? _ Without even having taken a sip, Shikamaru placed his glass back on the table, never breaking eye contact with Ino. She remained excited as ever, her face beaming and showing off her brilliant white teeth. _Ino? As in the flirty socialite Ino who Shikamaru would have put money on never settling down? Who was studying to become a psychologist? And Kiba, the single most anti-commitment guy he'd ever known, besides himself? What was the world coming to?_

Choji, evidently just as shocked, was the first to speak.

"But Ino….your exams…."

At this she laughed.

"Oh, of course we'll wait 'til that's out of the way. I'm sorry – Kiba told me not to tell anyone, but I just couldn't keep it in!"

The rest of the evening passed by in a blur. Choji and Ino were engaged in chitchat about wedding plans and dress buying and baby names, but Shikamaru just sat and sipped his champagne in a daze, occasionally giving one-word answers to meaningless questions. The bubbles burned at his throat in a way that, on that night, he found hard to enjoy.

As he walked home that night, having excused himself early by saying he didn't feel too well, he let his mind wander. Ino had been one of his closest friends since childhood, and Kiba was always there for a drink after work…it just seemed so surreal that they were _settling down_ already. They were only 24, for God's sake. It all seemed so pointless, to tie themselves down in such a way. Yet the more Shikamaru thought upon it, the more it dawned on him that they were only the first. How long would it be before more of his friends followed suit? What about Naruto and Hinata, who had been in a solid relationship since high school? How long would it be before Naruto grew a pair and popped the question? Shaking the thought from his alcohol-clouded mind, Shikamaru looked up and found that he was already at the little record shop. He hadn't even registered most of the journey.

He turned the corner onto his street with a heavy heart, walking around the side of the store. Faintly, his ears registered the echo of music. He gazed up to a small window, placed around one storey above the shop, which appeared to be the source of the tune. His eyes could just about make out the ghost of a silhouette, flickering against the dingy white curtain as someone moved around in the window's view. _Silly kid…_ Shikamaru thought to himself, amused.

"Turn it down! People are trying to sleep, kiddo!" he shouted, just for the hell of it. A muffled woman's voice told him just where to stick his advice, and he chuckled to himself quietly. It wasn't his problem at any rate, but the new arrival would certainly be getting an earful from the neighbours the next day.

**You have been warned – I will try to sneak as many of my pairings in here as possible. Please review, and I in return will attempt to update quickly! :D**


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